en, a little after: "Who says the anchor's fouled? How can I
tell for the noise? Tell them, less noise below. I never done it,
tell them! And take his grinning face out of the way, or you'll
never get it clear! 'Tisn't Christian burial--look at their fins!
D--n them, Hayling, look at their fins! Three feet of sand, or
they'll never stay covered. Who says as I poisoned them?
Hayling knows. Where is Hayling?"

I am writing down all I can remember; but there was more--a heap of
it--that I did not catch, being kept busy holding him down till the
strength went out of him and he lay quiet; which he did in time, the
shivers running down through him between my hands, and his voice
muttering on without a stop.

For an hour I sat, hoping he would fall asleep; for his voice
weakened little by little, and by-and-by he just lay and stared up at
the roof, with only his lips moving. After that I must have dropped
off in a doze; for I came to myself with a start, thinking that I
heard him speak to me. It was the rattle in his throat. He lay just
the same, with his eyes staring, but, putting out a hand to him, I
knew at once that the man was dead as a nail.

I had now to think of myself, for I knew that the niggers in the
kraal had not spared me out of kindness, but only that I might attend
to the white man, who was their friend. They were even ignorant
enough to believe that I had killed him. I worked out my plan: (1) I
must run for it; (2) the village was asleep, and the sooner I ran the
better; (3) they had met me heading for Cape Corse Castle, and would
hunt me in that direction--therefore I had best go straight back on
my steps; (4) they were less likely to chase me that way because it
led into the Popo country, and Melhuish had told me that these men
were Alampas, and afraid of the Popo tribes. True, if I headed back,
there was the river between me and Whydah, the nearest station to
eastward; but to get across it I must trust to luck.

I crept out of the hut. The night was black as my hat, almost, and
no guard set. At the edge of the kraal I made a dash for it, and
kept running for three miles. After that I ran sometimes, and
sometimes walked. The sun was up and the day growing hot when I came
to the shore by the river; and there in the offing lay the _Mary
Pynsent_ at anchor, just as if nothing had happened, and the boat
made fast alongside as I had left her. If I could swim out and get
into the boat, my j